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4-H members go international
 | | Senior 4-H member Lori Beverage is shown here teaching children from the Dominican Republic how to tie-dye their camp shirts. Forty-three children from local villages participated in the two day camp, which focused on environmental education and hands-on activities. |
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MONTEREY - My trip to the Dominican Republic was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am very glad that I was able to go. There was a lot of preparation work for this trip, though. The first thing I had to do was go to Shenandoah County to meet the others going and find out more about the trip.
We all had to study up on our Spanish vocabulary, learn about Mangroves and learn how to interact with the kids from the day camp. We also had to work together on getting school supplies for the schools we were visiting. The packing was the hardest for me though. Everyone had to make sure all of the luggage was the right weight, length, height and also make sure that your carry-on was properly equipped. As we found out, airport security is strict.
Arriving at Punta Cana was great. But it was very hot, humid, and dry. We were told whenever you pass someone playing music or when you ride a bus/trolley, you were to tip them. So we did a good bit of tipping. Our resort was amazing really good air conditioning and plenty of water. But of course we had to use bottled water considering the fact that the Dominican water was not fresh. The beach was about 100 yards away from our back door, which was pretty convenient.
 | | The program was offered by both Highland and Shenandoah County 4-H and the Punta Cana Resort in the Dominican Republic. Beverage (center) and Christine Hodges (left) are pictured here with other 4-H members and volunteers from Shenandoah County, Dominican Republic teens, and local school teachers and students. As one of their service projects, the 4-H group donated school supplies to three local schools. The school pictured here taught grades K-8. (Photos courtesy 4-H Youth Development) |
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Our first mission was to prepare for the day camp. But even before we did that we were told about "Dominican Time," which is what Dominicans go by. It's basically go as you please. We met three Dominican teens to help us out at the camp-Eduardo, Chavella, and Walkedia. The first day of camp we were expecting 18 or so kids, we ended up with about 30. This day all the kids made tie dye tee-shirts and started making their beads, for macramé. We also did an activity on the water cycle.
The second day of camp we came to a concluding number of about 43 kids, more than double our original guesstimate. This day we had our final product of tie dye tees and macramé bracelets. We went to a water treatment facility to learn about how to clean water by filtering it. Each day we went swimming with all the kids and that, surprisingly, seemed to be their favorite part of the day.
So after the two-day day camp we had the rest of the week to us teens, which was great! We went swimming in the ocean, shopping in Higuey, and snorkeling. Shopping was pretty interesting. It's a little like the flea market except they have fresh meat, and I mean fresh.
Dominicans use the barter system so you can try to bring the price down to a more reasonable price for yourself. The streets were very busy and crowded. The roads were very also. It might have been a two-lane road but it was used as a four-lane. The Dominicans are definitely good drivers.
Snorkeling was my favorite part. We all went out to the Coral Reef to snorkel and it was great. You could see lots of tiny fish, sea urchins, stingrays, and since the water was so clear you could see even more. Of course that was the day the sun must have been the brightest because we all got a nice little burn.
Overall, the trip was great. I would definitely choose to go again and I recommend it to anyone willing to get out of their comfort zone, not go by a schedule, learn new cultures and meet interesting people.
- Lori Beverage, Monterey
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